LIC5B-Urban+Ecology

= Long Island Creek Site 5B = = Urban Ecology =

__Overview__
USDA Tree Risk Assessment was carried out once at every site during the sites' monitoring period with the intention of evaluating the urban ecology area adjacent to the waterbody. The objective of this assessment is to evaluate defective parts in selected trees and their respective risk of failure and hazard.

__Data Collected__
Trees at Long Island Creek site 5B are somewhat healthy and have a low probability of target. The most common defects were Poor Tree Architecture: Leaning Trees, Poor Tree Architecture, and Root problems caused by erosion, specially those trees near or on stream banks. Trees risk rating range from 3 to 7, and the average risk rating is 4.3. In sum, trees at LIC5B have a higher risk rating when compared to LIC5B. One reason for this this could be the location of the selected trees. Additionally, some trees have large vine growth likely to increase their risk rating in the future. Selected trees at LIC5B are generally located closer to the stream banks than the trees assessed at LIC5A, thus it is likely that they have a higher exposure to erosion. Follow the link below for the Watershed Assessment and Analysis 2012 collective Urban Ecology data.


 * ~ LICB Trees 1-5 ||
 * [[image:watershed2012/LICB 1.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB 2.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB 3.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB4.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB5.JPG width="144" height="192"]] ||




 * ~ LICB Trees 6-10 ||
 * [[image:watershed2012/LICB6.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB7.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB8.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB9.JPG width="144" height="192"]] || [[image:watershed2012/LICB10.JPG width="144" height="192"]] ||

__Data Collected__
Trees at Long Island Creek site 5B are somewhat healthy and have a low probability of target. The most common defects were Poor Tree Architecture: Leaning Trees, Poor Tree Architecture, and Root problems caused by erosion, specially those trees near or on stream banks. Trees risk rating range from 3 to 7, and the average risk rating is 4.3. In sum, trees at LIC5B have a higher risk rating when compared to LIC5B. One reason for this this could be the location of the selected trees. Additionally, some trees have large vine growth likely to increase their risk rating in the future. Selected trees at LIC5B are generally located closer to the stream banks than the trees assessed at LIC5A, thus it is likely that they have a higher exposure to erosion. Follow the link below for the Watershed Assessment and Analysis 2012 collective Urban Ecology data.

**__Visual-Biological Factors__**
The observed wildlife at Site A consisted of mammals, crustaceans, and the resident fish in the creek. The mammals were deer as evident by their tracks, and were the only ones observed. The crustaceans were crayfish which were only seen minimally. Fish were abundant in the creek, ranging from small (1-2") to medium (3-6") in size. The larger fish were found primarily by the 90 degree turn into Site A and by the pool slightly further upstream. There were small schools of the smaller fish throughout the study area. There were no barriers impeding fish movement and no aquatic plants were observed with the exception of brownish algae. The brown algae was found as a light coating on the small rocks and pebbles within the riffles. There was no filamentous or free-floating algae observed. This area of the creek was heavily shaded from the sun, with approximately only 20% of the study area receiving direct sunlight. It needs to be noted that on the last day the group visited Site B to collect information about the trees, it was noticed that was a large number of fish kills. The group noticed approximately two dozen dead fish of varying sizes and species throughout Site B, as well as a dead crayfish. There was a very hot heat wave that had passed through a few days prior to the visit, and it was hypothesized that this was the reason for the fish kills. As the monitoring period for chemical and biological factors in the water had passed, no water was collected for analysis.

Watershed Level Urban Ecology data can be found here. USDA Community Tree Evalutation forms can be found [|here.]

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